Phil Smith and James Copley react to Sunderland's defeat to Swansea City
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00:00Hello, welcome to the stadium like Phil and James here.
00:02Sunderland have just lost 1-0 to Swansea City.
00:07What to say, Phil, really? It was a pretty poor game, wasn't it?
00:10I think we can just end it there.
00:11Yeah, I think Swansea probably just about deserved it would be my overriding feeling,
00:15certainly in the sense that in the first 20 minutes they were not like the Swansea of old, really.
00:19They were quite direct, but I mean that in a purposeful way.
00:21They've created quite a lot of chances. They've pressed Sunderland really well.
00:23Sunderland were dead sloppy, but they were really lucky not to go behind in the first 20 minutes, Sunderland.
00:28And after that, there wasn't a lot in the game and Swansea didn't create much.
00:32But I mean, Sunderland, I can barely think of a clear good chance, really.
00:35It was, you know, Swansea defended well, they made good blocks, they sort of, they defended their box really well.
00:40But it's a bit of a concern now, really, that Sunderland are just struggling to carve out chances.
00:44And we've rightly praised the fact that since the Coventry game, the international break, defensively, they've been fairly solid.
00:49And that was the case by and large today.
00:51Yeah.
00:51But they're not really creating much.
00:53There was a real lack of attack to spark the build-up players, not convincing.
00:56And, you know, there's time to fix it, but it has to be a little bit of a worry at this point, isn't it?
01:00No, I think you're right.
01:01And I think that Sunderland feel like a team that are going through the motions, obviously.
01:04Yeah, definitely.
01:04The playoff place is guaranteed, but you want to come into those playoffs on some momentum, don't you?
01:10You can't really be having too many more performances like this, I would suggest.
01:14I think we understand that the Bruises maybe try to rotate the squad, try to get a few more players up to speed.
01:19But it's really not clicking at the moment.
01:21I think, as you say, particularly going forward, that is a fair few games now where it hasn't really stuck.
01:27And it is a general concern of mine coming into the playoffs that even when Sunderland have been pretty good going forward,
01:32they haven't tended to put teams to the sword that often.
01:35And that does concern me, actually.
01:37But I think we're creating fewer chances than we were even before the year.
01:41And that is a worry when you say that we haven't been massively clinical all season.
01:45So when you're then not actually creating that many chances, you start worrying a little bit where the goals are going to come from.
01:49I thought that there was a huge difference when Le Fay and Meander came on the pitch.
01:54I think right now, obviously, Le Fay we have to be super careful with, and you can understand that.
01:58You can't just play 90 minutes every week and risk another hamstring injury.
02:01But if we're picking a team for the playoffs right now, I don't think there's any doubt that Le Fay and Meander are in it.
02:05But I think Meander looks, in my opinion right now, like some of the best options up front.
02:09I thought, although there weren't loads and loads of chances and neither of them scored or got an assist or anything like that,
02:15I thought that we looked far much more convinced.
02:17And the tempo came up when they came on the pitch.
02:19And that is a worry for me.
02:20Not that they're playing well, but it's a worry that we need them on the pitch.
02:23Is it nine games without a goal for Isidon now?
02:25I think it might be eight, but it's eight or nine for sure.
02:27It just looks to me like, it's Le Brice's favourite word, isn't it?
02:30That sort of connection, connectivity with the team.
02:32And for me, it doesn't look that in tune with what's going on around him at the moment.
02:37Which is unfortunate, because I think when he's on, he's absolutely brilliant.
02:40And there was a moment actually just in the corner where he won the ball back and really looked to attack Swansie.
02:44And he got pulled back for a foul.
02:46But for me, he's just not offering enough at the moment.
02:49Is he tired? Is it a different confidence? Is it both? Is he frustrated?
02:54I don't know what it is, but he doesn't look like the same player when he first came to the team.
02:57And at the moment, I think Leander's got a bit more of a spark about him.
03:00And he tends to make things happen, as you said, all season, really.
03:02And he tends to make things happen.
03:04So I think that's a big thing going forward.
03:06Job's a miss, obviously. I'm not putting it all down to that.
03:08We still haven't won this season without him.
03:10But I think his energy and his athleticism in the field and his quality driving with the ball is definitely absent.
03:16Dan Neill needs a rest.
03:17So I think there's some stuff that I think will naturally get better.
03:20I think when Neill's had a bit of a break, when Job's back, when the fear's got more minutes.
03:23But definitely we have to be a little bit concerned about the lack of chances of the ball.
03:28Could you argue that Mebby's were being too analytical and too harsh and this dip was probably always going to come,
03:34with Sunderland not able to get the automatics yet having secured their playoff promotion spot?
03:42Was this always likely to happen? Is it human nature?
03:45Yes, we would like a little bit more, but they're sort of in a weird spot and we should just accept that.
03:49I think that was naturally always going to happen, but I think on home turf, I think it's a worry that you aren't creating many chances.
03:56I think that's fair. I think there's always going to be a little bit of a dip.
03:59We do have to put it into context, and say that some of them have had a weird situation at the moment,
04:03but I expect them to be creating an awful lot more.
04:06Shall we end with that?
04:07I think so.
04:07I've got really much more to say. Good luck recording on the whistle.
04:10Yeah, yeah. Please give me some questions. Help me out here.
04:13Thank you, Sundernec World website for all things Sunderland, and thanks for watching.